Irish Broadcaster Opens Up About Eurovision Future After Boycotting 2026 Contest

The director general of Ireland’s national broadcaster has cast doubt on a return to Eurovision for the country in 2027.

Ireland was one of five countries who withdrew from the Eurovision Song Contest in the lead-up to this year’s competition, in protest over Israel’s continued presence at the event despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Earlier this week, RTÉ’s Kevin Bakhurst was asked on Morning Ireland about whether the country’s boycott would extend into next year, to which he responded that he saw “no reason” why it wouldn’t.

“We haven’t started to think about next year and there’s a long way to go,” he claimed, before pointing out: “Our rationale still holds, civilians are still dying in smaller numbers, but they are still dying in significant numbers in Gaza, and also in Lebanon. Journalists are still being targeted, and they still have been up to recently.

“For us as a public service broadcaster, who believes in the importance of protecting journalists and believes in human rights, there’s no reason at the moment to change our decision but we will review it in the coming months.”

Last year, RTÉ said in a statement that Ireland going to Eurovision in 2026 would be “unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk”.

The broadcaster said: “RTÉ remains deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza during the conflict and the continued denial of access to international journalists to the territory.”

Spain, Slovenia, The Netherlands and Iceland were the other four countries who chose not to participate in Eurovision 2026 as a show of solidarity with Palestine.

Meanwhile, Belgian broadcaster VRT cast doubt on its own participation in next year’s event over the weekend, ahead of the live Eurovision final in Vienna, Austria, where Bulgaria triumphed for the first time and the UK finished at the bottom of the leaderboard.